Aristotle 's Virtue Ethics Is The Best Philosophy Out Of The Three Men

Over time philosophers have always fought the same moral dilemma, the meaning of life. In 370 B.C. Aristotle lived in an era where war was related to power and the only thing that was an escape to him was his virtues and a ways to be virtuous. On the other hand we have Epictetus from 55 A.D. With centuries of views apart, Aristotle, a well known aristocrat, and Epictetus, a former slave that found philosophy as a way of life. Even though you might expect them to have different points of views, both philosophers coming from different times and different backgrounds still agree that knowledge can overcome any boundary. Both Aristotle and Epictetus fit under Mill’s theory of utilitarianism as they both teach and write books to benefit the greatest amount of people.

John Stuart Mill and Aristotle both address the idea of happiness as the goal of human life. They explain that all human action is at the foundation of their moral theories. Mill addresses the Greatest Happiness Principle, which is the greatest amount of pleasure to the least amount of pain. Similarly, Aristotle addresses happiness through the idea of eudaimonia and human flourishing. According to Aristotle, eudaimonia is happiness, it is the state of contemplation that individuals are in when they have reached actualized happiness. Also referred to as happiness or human flourishing, it is the ultimate goal of human beings. Happiness is “living well and acting well.” He explains that once general happiness becomes recognized as the moral standard, natural sentiment will nurture feelings that promote utilitarianism. According to Aristotle, happiness is a state of being. Both Mill and Aristotle agree that in order to attain true happiness, human beings must engage in activities that are distinct to humans and that make them happy. Aristotle’s idea of eudaimonia and human flourishing is a more compelling argument than Mill’s for happiness and the final end because Aristotle explains that the virtues bring human beings to happiness.

Aristotle’s virtue ethics assume that moral virtue is necessary for flourishing, It logically follows, then, that those exhibiting the ordinary vices of domination, despite appearances to the contrary, are far from ever attaining a truly good life. Aristotle’s ethics are too narrow in scope, because any code of ethics should be universally applicable and equal because reinforcing privilege and oppressive structures negatively affect everyone's chances--including the perpetrator’s-- at developing the virtues described in Nicomachean Ethics and therefore negatively affect everyone's chances at leading the best life possible.

It was Aristotle’s belief that everything, including humans, had a telos or goal in life. The end result or goal was said to be happiness or “eudaimonia”. He explained that eudaimonia was different for each person, and that each had a different idea of what it meant. Further, he said that people must do things in moderation, but at the same time do enough. The theory, of “the golden mean of moderation” was the basis to Aristotle's idea of the human telos and concluded that living a virtuous life must be the same for all

Eudemonia is the highest aim of humans. He considers it as happiness, living well and flourishing. It is that specific thing which

Virtue Ethics is centred on the belief that everything has a purpose and that, when something fulfils its purpose, it is good. For example, the purpose of a knife is to cut, and so a knife that cuts well has achieved its purpose. This links in to Aristotle’s ideas about the Four Causes and the Final Cause. Plato and Aristotle agreed that the purpose of humanity was the fulfilment of flourishing, and this is known as eudaimonia. When a person has achieved eudaimonia they will be fully content with their lives and they will act morally because they want to. He referred to eudaimonia as “an end in itself”. Aristotle insists that this telos can only be achieved through the use of reason, since the ‘ergon’ (function) of reason in practice is virtue. He says: “The good

In this section I will explain Aristotle’s definition of eudaimonia and its relationship to happiness, morality and the virtues. Aristotle defines eudaimonia in the

Aristotle, Greek philosopher and author of works including the Nichomachean Ethics, wrote in a style in which the writer uses methodological discussion in order to reach a conclusion, also known as treatise. Aristotle, as opposed to St. Augustine and other religious persons, spent his life learning philosophy and presumably made it a goal to teach others,

Aristotle found that there are two kinds of virtues of the soul. First, there are virtues of thought, such as wisdom. Next, there are virtues of character, such as generosity. The main focus of his virtue ethics lies in the virtues of character. Aristotle assumed that these virtues are learned through habit. For example, whereas intellectual virtue may arise from reading a book, the adoption of virtuous character is inherited solely by practice. Therefore, it is through a person's upbringing that moral virtues are cultivated, and it is through the habit of thinking virtuously that one can excel towards happiness.

Aristotle recognizes that actions are not pointless because they have an aim. Every action aims at some good. Furthermore, some things are done for their own sake and some for the sake of others. Aristotle then observes that when an object has a function the good of the object is when it performs its function well. For example, the knife has a function, to cut, and it performs its function well when it cuts well. This argument is applied to man. Man has a function and the good man, is the man who performs his function well. This is the life of eudaimonia. Eudaimonia is the life of achieving virtues through activity in conjunction with reason, man's highest function. Therefore, when linked to moral decision making the person making the

Aristotle’s theory will be discussed in full length on his theory of virtue. Now Aristotle did believe in a multitude of theories that are all based off of virtue, but also the soul. To Aristotle, virtue is an excellence, which comes after happiness and achieving our final goal. When Aristotle talks about an individual’s final goal and excellence of that

In other words, the thinker is not only the 'best' person, but is also most like God. Aristotle believed in virtue ethics – where the purpose was to become a good person and have good

There are four main philosophers that set the basis for different styles of ethics. The four Philosophers that made a huge impact on us all are Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill. All four philosophers are very well known for their intelligence and work in the ethics community. Although all of the philosophers have the same goal of defining ethics and how we should behave in terms of the highest good for human beings they all do it in different ways in which they feel is the proper way. Throughout this paper I will be comparing each of the four main Philosophers that we learned about this semester to each other so that you can

Eudaimonia is a Greek word, translated its means “the state of having a good welling spirit, a good genius” (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Usually people idea of happiness is a state of mind. Aristotle argues that Eudaimonia is not a state of mind on or accompanying certain activities.

That is the highest end and the best life we could possibly live. Eudaimonia is translated as happiness. Even though it does not mean what we understand happiness to be. Eudaemonia is so much more than just being happy. Aristotle wrote, “For we have said that happiness is a certain sort of activity of the soul in accord with virtue” (Aristotle 9). To reach eudaimonia, a person has to be functioning well. In order to be functioning well, we have to act using logos, which is our reasoning.